So, they’ve gone. My literary novel for 9-12s about lemons (see previous post) and my Big Collaborative Project that involves Superheroes – they are OUT. Poof! Into the ether that is SUBMISSION SPACE! In other words, I now have two BIG books doing the rounds with publishers, as well as an early reader. That’s more … More Clearing the decks: time for a new project
Ah, welcome back, Pea! And her sisters Clover and Tinkerbell, and Wuffly the dog, and Mum who’s also Marina Cove, the famous author… I heart Pea. I have mentioned this before, in my review of the third in the series, Pea’s Book of Birthdays. Susie Day is such a great writer, she jam-packs her books … More Pea’s Book of Holidays – review
Books for children are the best; they’re the ones that stay with you forever. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Where The Wild Things Are, the Narnia books, Just William… I think adults sometimes forget just what books MEAN to children, which is silly because they were all children once too. I am SO lucky to be … More How to do books properly: The Story Museum, Oxford
As a writer and mum, I don’t get out much. So to have two massively exciting events in the same week was almost a bit overwhelming for me – which is why it’s taken me another week to recover and feel up to writing this post! First, there was the annual ‘retreat’ with the Scattered … More From retreating to emerging! Charney and YALC
I stole this book from my daughter (shhh!). She wanted a copy after seeing Steve Cole leaping about a stage doing poems about cucumbers and mashups of chairs and zombies. She’s much too young for it still, but the book is a thing of beauty in its own right. Jim Field has done an awesome … More Aliens Stink! – review
I’m going to start by saying this is my favourite Ali Sparkes book so far. I loved Frozen In Time, and I enjoyed Out of This World, but Destination Earth has just topped them both. Think ALIEN. Think MARS ATTACKS. And then think suitable-for-kids. Clever Ali 🙂 Lucy is, to outward appearances, a thirteen-year-old girl. … More Destination Earth – review
Romance and jive – what’s not to like? As the title suggests, this new book by Jenny McLachlan is a kind of toned-down version of Dirty Dancing, but don’t be put off by the ‘romance’ tag because actually this is more about a shy girl finding her inner courage. Which isn’t a new thing in … More Flirty Dancing – review
I’m revising a novel. It’s one I wrote last year, and my agent read it and liked it but wanted me to make some changes. And because I hate editing and rewriting, I put it off and wrote something else instead. And while I was waiting for my agent to read the other thing, I … More Why revising a novel is like juicing a lemon
I loved Frozen In Time by Ali Sparkes when I read it last year, and Out of this World is another cracking read. Ty Lewis is a keen naturalist, spending a lot of time in the woods near his home and building a strong friendship with Sam, the ranger who lives there. One night, Ty finds a … More Out of this World – review
This morning I had my first meeting with the head of Burford School, Oxfordshire, along with the head of English, the marketing/publicity manager and the fantastic librarian – all of us gathered to talk about my new position at the school as Patron of Reading, and what exactly that meant to all of us. We … More First Patron of Reading meeting
Jo Cotterill 